Does the soil seed survival of fen-meadow species depend on the groundwater level?

Background and Aims Numerous studies noted that the seed banks of drained former wet-meadows did not have enough residual seed potential for the successful restoration of species-rich fen-meadows. However, it is unclear whether a decline in groundwater level exerts a negative effect on the seed survival of wet-meadow plant species in the soil. This paper assessed the dependence of soil seed survival on different groundwater levels.